Saturday 30 April 2016

A little video about kathrine switzer

Posted by speedygeoff on Saturday, April 30, 2016 with
"No one wanted her to run." Not exactly true, but it must have felt like that.

https://www.facebook.com/playgroundenglish/videos/268194723513865/

And this was 1967!

Friday 29 April 2016

Suzie's news

Posted by speedygeoff on Friday, April 29, 2016 with
The lovely Suzie Gye is expecting! That means there are three members of the speedygeese who will be bringing speedygoslings into the world this year. For the other two, Sarah-Jayne, and Cookie, this will be happening very soon. For Suzie, here is what she says:

"I'm very excited to share with friends near and far the news of my little miracle. Baby Gye is due on 3rd September ❤️."

Here is Suzie with the new car she has bought to go with her new baby.



Thursday 28 April 2016

The Age of Happiness

Posted by speedygeoff on Thursday, April 28, 2016 with



copied from the internet

After his wife's funeral, Fauja moved in with his son, making the long journey from a small Indian village to London. Spending whole days sitting at home didn't feel healthy to this retired farmer, not to mention depressing. Seeing joggers fill up city parks every morning made Fauja wonder – why don't I give running a try too?

Except, he never planned on running marathons. But, he got into it over time. After eight years of training, Fauja, at 89 years old, finished the London marathon in less than seven hours. He didn't stop there. Three years later, at 92, he then ran a marathon distance in five hours and 40 minutes. It turned out that in the “above 90” age category, he beat the world record.

As a result, Adidas invited Fauja to be a part of their advertising campaign, titled “The Impossible is Possible.”

This is how Fauja Singh became a global celebrity and started his athletic career at 90. In the last 12 years, he participated in the London marathon eight times, finishing every time. This retired Indian farmer took to his new role as celebrity athlete quite easily.

“God wants me to be the oldest marathon runner on Earth,” he says. “And, since all we do is already lined out by the Almighty, I'm simply his soldier carrying out his will.”

To stay in shape, Fauja walks and runs a total distance of 15 kilometers per day. He avoids smoking, fried food, alcohol, and (as much as possible) encounters with unpleasant people. And, he smiles a lot.

“The first twenty miles of a marathon are easy for me,” says Fauja. “And, the last six, I run, talking to God.”

More about Fauja http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fauja_Singh

Wednesday 27 April 2016

speedygeese training sessions in the last week

Posted by speedygeoff on Wednesday, April 27, 2016 with
Last Thursday at Dickson Dave and I ran long. We also ran into Julia Herbert (McDonald) with her mum Maria O’Reilly having a training run there; they may join us in future.

On Sunday at Stromlo Dave ran long (and fast before the Vets Handicap), Andrew and I ran laps of the cross country course.

On Monday at Parliament House, Dave and I ran early (so I got in a really fast run); for the main session we ran 12 x 40 seconds on 2 minutes; I doing the whole session for once, along with Andrew, Andy, Dave, Isaac, Jen, and Pieta. When Monday is a holiday we never know how many will turn up.

Come along on Thursday at Dickson, it be fun.

Tuesday 26 April 2016

speedygeese race results

Posted by speedygeoff on Tuesday, April 26, 2016 with
Tuesday 19 April Black Mountain Run Up 2.6 km
17 finishers

Friday 22 April Customs 5k
Bronwyn Calver 22:54
Bill Arthur 26:52
Peter Thomson 29:20
Ewen Thompson 39:18
23 finishers

Saturday 23 April 5k Ginninderra parkrun #208
53 Geoff Moore 23:37 M65
79 Gary Bowen 25:45 M55
249 finishers

Saturday 23 April
5k Tuggeranong parkrun #165
10 David Clarke 19:36 M55
32 Peter Thomson 21:51 M55
35 Bronwyn Calver 22:03 W45
286 finishers

Saturday 23 April 5k Gungahlin parkrun #132
25 Andrew Simpson 20:52 M40
57 Janene Kingston 23:24 W50
189 finishers

Sunday 24 April ACTVAC Majura Park 10k handicap
6 David Webster M60 45:52 **silver**
8 Peter Thomson M55 44:14
9 Rod Lynch M55 42:13
10 Christopher Lang M65 64:40
13 Kathy Sims W60 51:49
34 Nadine Morrison W45 52:40
37 Caroline Campbell W70 64:16
40 Mick Charlton M60 65:26
55 Gabrielle Brown W50 57:37
63 Ruth Baussmann W65 68:25
66 David Clarke M55 54:04
68 finishers

Sunday 24 April
ACTVAC Majura Park 5k handicap
2 Maria O'Reilly W60 26:13
14 Cathy Montalto W60 27:47
30 Gary Bowen M55 28:53
36 finishers

Happy Birthday Ewen, 59 today!

Monday 25 April 2016

ashes to ashes

Posted by speedygeoff on Monday, April 25, 2016 with
Song of the week: a brilliant David Bowie self-referencing masterpiece
From https://youtu.be/7M3pi2jNrQE

Sunday 24 April 2016

some cute grandchildren

Posted by speedygeoff on Sunday, April 24, 2016 with


(more on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/speedygeoff)

Saturday 23 April 2016

Ginninderra parkrun 4th birthday

Posted by speedygeoff on Saturday, April 23, 2016 with
I'm in there somewhere


Gary Bowen

Friday 22 April 2016

trampoline wildlife

Posted by speedygeoff on Friday, April 22, 2016 with
I have three families of grandchildren, 14 very active grandchildren in all, and each family home has a trampoline in their respective back yard. The following could easily happen.



Or this...



I am off to see the Jamberoo and the old-Googong family today.

Thursday 21 April 2016

Runners Tribe article by Hugh Williams

Posted by speedygeoff on Thursday, April 21, 2016 with
...how one of today's young guns views training. Well worth a read,

http://www.runnerstribe.com/hugh-williams-rt-journal-training-sessions/

Wednesday 20 April 2016

speedygeese training

Posted by speedygeoff on Wednesday, April 20, 2016 with
On Thursday 14 April at Dickson oval, Peter B2, Colin, Stuart, Louise, Janene, Dave, Jen and I attended, the session was 5 x 800 on 6 minutes.

On Sunday Andrew trained at Stromlo;

Then on Monday 18th at Parliament House I ran early, then participated in a hill session of 15 intervals on 2 minutes, with various optional recoveries, with Andrew, Andy, Ben, Colin, Kelley, Mick C, Pieta, Thomas & Warrick.

See you Thursday! If you miss a few weeks I might forget what you look like! That can't be right.



Just to add to the results I published yesterday:
Tuesday 19 April AMA Nationals 8k cross country
W60 Kathy Sims 42:27 4th
M55 Dave Clarke 33:37 3rd *bronze*
M55 Roger Pilkington 7th 39:27

Tuesday 19 April 2016

speedygeese race results

Posted by speedygeoff on Tuesday, April 19, 2016 with
Friday 15 April Customs 5k
Bronwyn Calver 23:03
Bron Sparkes 24:04
Caroline Campbell 37:14
Ewen Thompson 41:14
17 finishers

Saturday 16 April 5k Ginninderra parkrun #207
29 Bron Sparkes 22:42 W35 **new PB**
66 Susan Sturgeon 25:29 W40
208 finishers

Saturday 16 April 5k Tuggeranong parkrun #164
286 finishers

Saturday 16 April 5k Gungahlin parkrun #131
59 Gary Bowen 24:48 M55
141 Ruth Baussmann 38:24 W65
142 Margaret McSpadden 39:00 W65
168 finishers

Saturday 16 April Torrens parkrun #178
21 Dave Clarke 20:18
343 finishers

Saturday 16 April YCRC Stromlo Forest Park 5k
17. Rohan Pitchford 23:32
21. Geoff Moore 24:25
31 finishers

Saturday 16 April
AMA 10000m track
Dave & Roger did not start

Saturday 16 April AMA 800m track
W60 Kathy Sims 3:04.41 4th

Sunday 17 April AMA 1500m track
M55 Dave Clarke 5:13.91 7th
M55 Roger Pilkington 5:46.93 9th
W60 Kathy Sims 6:15.92 4th

Monday 18 April AMA 5000m track
M55 Dave Clarke 18:51.58 4th **bronze**
M55 Roger Pilkington 22:18.40 9th
W60 Kathy Sims 22:02.80 3rd **bronze**

Some of the ACT Masters athletes at the National Championships in Adelaide

Monday 18 April 2016

Pride (In The Name Of Love)

Posted by speedygeoff on Monday, April 18, 2016 with
Song of the Week
from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHcP4MWABGY


A very young Bono. From the 1984 album The Unforgettable Fire.


Sunday 17 April 2016

A nice 3k swim work-out

Posted by speedygeoff on Sunday, April 17, 2016 with
As I am continuing to be semi-injured I thought I might try more structured swim work-outs. Here's one I might slightly modify and work towards. It's taken from http://triathlon.competitor.com/2016/04/training/one-hour-workout-sprint-focused-swim_130265. You can find a link there, which I haven't yet clicked on, to other work-outs.

Warm-up (500)
Repeat 4x: 100 free, 25 backstroke

Main Set #1 (600)
Twice through: 50 kick, build
2×50 pull, with 8 fast strokes off of each wall
3×50 swim as 25 fast/25 easy

Main Set #2
(1500) 16×25 on an interval 5 seconds faster than your “comfort zone.” (Ex: On every :25)
100 easy
16×25 alternating one on an interval 10 seconds faster than the interval you just did, and one on an interval 10 seconds slower than what you just did. (Ex: One on every :20, one on every :30.)
100 easy
16×25 on an interval 5 seconds faster than the first round. 1 x 100 easy

Cool-down (400)
100 drill
100 kick
100 backstroke
100 choice

Total distance: 3000

Saturday 16 April 2016

Ruth's amazing sprint past Rob in the marathon finishing straight

Posted by speedygeoff on Saturday, April 16, 2016 with

Friday 15 April 2016

Bill Arthur

Posted by speedygeoff on Friday, April 15, 2016 with
Bill completed this year's running festival 50k. He has run marathons on every continent, including Antarctica. Bill continue to inspire.

"Why I run. My Mum and Dad had heart problems and Dad died from a massive heart attach, I gave a Plasma Donation to the Blood Bank yesterday where my resting pulse rate was 51 and my Blood Pressure was 110 over 61. I am now older than my Dad when he died in 1968."


[Gungahlin parkrun]

Thursday 14 April 2016

never underestimate an ...

Posted by speedygeoff on Thursday, April 14, 2016 with

Wednesday 13 April 2016

speedygeese training

Posted by speedygeoff on Wednesday, April 13, 2016 with
On Thursday at Dickson Gabe + Maria + me were there early to trot around the track; The main session saw Colin + Peter B2 come and run 6 x 650 each; others in the vicinity were Dr. Dick Telford with a rather large elite group; Gerard Ryan with a diverse group including Melissa Clark and Rachelle E-B.

Sunday of course was the running festival and people were running or watching the marathon;

On Monday at Parliament House Ewen and I ran 5-6k early; then for the main session we ran relays near the Rose Garden with Brendan (new), Terri (visitor), Jen, Dave, Warrick, Thomas, Pieta, Diana, Alex, Mick, Andrew and I participating in a 25 minute session. Afterwards we went to the Yacht Club for a meal; Ruth, Dave, Caroline, Diana, Alex, Mick, Warrick, Thomas. Jen, Richard and me all there.

Parliament house loos are not the best places one can get changed in before going out for the evening...

Tuesday 12 April 2016

speedygeese race results

Posted by speedygeoff on Tuesday, April 12, 2016 with
Tuesday 5 April AMRA Mt Ainslie Run-Up 2.2k
11 finishers

Friday 8 April Customs 5k
Bron Sparkes 22:55
Peter Brown 23:45
Bronwyn Calver 24:08
Bill Arthur 28:14
Caroline Campbell 33:49
Ewen Thompson 37:31
22 finishers

Saturday 9 April 5k Ginninderra parkrun #206
31 Bron Sparkes 22:58 W35 **New PB**
48 Geoff Moore 24:28 M65
184 finishers

Saturday 9 April 5k Tuggeranong parkrun #163
40 Isaac Muscat 23:21 M11
41 Jen Bright 23:21 W40
60 David Clarke 24:43 M55
65 Gary Bowen 25:23 M55
176 Ewen Thompson 33:40 M55
253 finishers

Saturday 9 April 5k Gungahlin parkrun #130
156 finishers

Saturday 9 April Running Festival 5k
817 finishers

Saturday 9 April Running Festival 10k
23 Louise Sharp 37:04
51 David Clarke 39:31
109 Rohan Pitchford 43:52
196 Pieta Smith 46:59
1350 finishers

Sunday 10 April Running Festival Half Marathon
412 Bronwyn Calver 1:43.01
642 Bron Sparkes 1:49:06
2181 finishers

Sunday 10 April Running Festival Marathon
191 Peter Thomson 3:29:02
308 Giles Lamb 3:40:57
821 Roger Pilkington 4:32:55
864 Ruth Baussmann 4:41:39
996 Caroline Campbell 5:09:31
1105 finishers

Sunday 10 April Running Festival 50k
160 Bill Arthur 6:24:07
172 finishers

Please let me know if I missed anybody!

One of many PBs at the running Festival: Louise Sharp 37:04 for 10k

Monday 11 April 2016

Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun

Posted by speedygeoff on Monday, April 11, 2016 with


And what a great song this is. Song of the week... by Pink Floyd ... maybe their best.

From https://youtu.be/8RbXIMZmVv8

Sunday 10 April 2016

Canberra Marathon. What a fantastic day.

Posted by speedygeoff on Sunday, April 10, 2016 with
Perfect Canberra weather for a great marathon. Some highlights of the day; more photos to come.








Saturday 9 April 2016

Even after having six children, my daughter Loani can still do this

Posted by speedygeoff on Saturday, April 09, 2016 with



Friday 8 April 2016

Happy Birthday Jenny .. 68 today!

Posted by speedygeoff on Friday, April 08, 2016 with
My good lady 48 years ago...

Thursday 7 April 2016

maybe it's time for some dog pictures

Posted by speedygeoff on Thursday, April 07, 2016 with

Wednesday 6 April 2016

speedygeese training

Posted by speedygeoff on Wednesday, April 06, 2016 with
(a) Thursdays at Dickson: We kicked off Dickson training last Thursday evening with a good turn-up for the resumption; including one new runner and two others we had not seen for a long time. Maybe we will see more new arrivals as we continue to meet there: Antill street, Thursday evenings; 5:30pm.
Nine did 400m continuous relays while I watched. Running were Bill (long time no see), Caroline, Colin, Dave C, Giles (new), Peter B2 (long time no see), Rohan, Ruth and Susan.

(b) On Sunday at Stromlo Andrew and I trained on the grass while Dave C, Thommo and Pieta ran long. We won't be there this Sunday: for Sunday's marathon, a good spectator spot is near the dog park Yarralumla, at the entrance to Weston Park. I plan to cheer from there again this year.

(c) On Monday at Parliament House and a warmish evening. I ran early, then supervised the group doing their third set of Rose Garden 200s. Colin ran off 2:15; Isaac, Jen and Dave C off 2:20; Andy, Pieta and Warrick 2:40; Alex, Mick and Christopher 3:00; and Rae, Ruth & Caroline just behind that.

This coming Monday the 11th, our running group will be having its occasional Yacht Club get-together for a drink and a meal, straight after training, getting there by 7:00pm. It's quite informal and everyone is welcome, just turn up. [Rain is forecast so if you are training a change of clothes might be advised]

Happy running everybody, and best wishes to all entering running festival events on the weekend.

Tuesday 5 April 2016

speedygeese race results

Posted by speedygeoff on Tuesday, April 05, 2016 with
Friday 1 April Customs 5k
Giles Lamb 21:34
Peter Thomson 22:03
Bronwyn Calver 22:39
Caroline Campbell 32:52
20 finishers

Saturday 2 April 5k Ginninderra parkrun #205
10 David Clarke 19:10 M55 **New Ginninderra PB**
12 Isaac Muscat 19:17 M11 **New Ginninderra PB**
14 Jen Bright 19:25 W40 **New Ginninderra PB**
17 Peter Thomson 20:12 M55 **New Ginninderra PB**
42 Geoff Moore 23:15 M65
75 Roger Pilkington 25:14 M55 Ginninderra First Timer
87 Gary Bowen 26:15 M55
118 Ruth Baussmann 28:14 W65
129 Cathy Newman 29:10 W55
188 Ewen Thompson 45:05 M55
210 finishers

Saturday 2 April 5k Tuggeranong parkrun #162
22 Bronwyn Calver 21:48 W45
287 finishers

Saturday 2 April 5k Gungahlin parkrun #129
1 Stuart Doyle 17:53 M45
3 Louise Sharp 18:09 W30
191 Margaret McSpadden 44:23 W65
194 finishers

Sunday 3 April YCRC Women’s 6k Jogalong
Cathy Montalto 32:14
Caroline Campbell 35:54
72 finishers

Good luck to everyone in Canberra for the running festival next weekend


Monday 4 April 2016

sometimes it can be “so hard, finding inspiration”

Posted by speedygeoff on Monday, April 04, 2016 with
Song of the week: The Unguarded Moment, by The Church. An Australian classic.
from https://youtu.be/Osz-GQbX37o

Sunday 3 April 2016

Pictures from Ginninderra parkrun

Posted by speedygeoff on Sunday, April 03, 2016 with

Saturday 2 April 2016

Fun and games at the Ginninderra parkrun

Posted by speedygeoff on Saturday, April 02, 2016 with
The Griffins were well represented at the Ginninderra parkrun this morning.


I wore the correct coloured Griffin shorts but the wrong colour shoes. apparently.


Ginninderra also suffered a large invasion of Tuggeranong speedygeese parkrunners, of whom Dave, Isaac, Jen and Thommo ran very fast Ginninderra PBs. A bit slower than their parkrun PBs, as the Ginninderra course is the correct length. Results to be published here on Tuesday.

Friday 1 April 2016

“And it’s goodbye from him”

Posted by speedygeoff on Friday, April 01, 2016 with


From https://youtu.be/oaGpaj2nHIo